JOHN STONES has been looking forward to Luton away for months.
A Kenilworth Road trip does not seem like an enticing prospect for a Champions League winner.
But Stones cannot wait for Saturday’s match — because he will face childhood pal Jordan Clark.
Play-off final hero Clark said: “John texted me after we’d won at Wembley saying he could not believe we’d be playing against each other.
“He said, ‘We’ll have a right laugh out on that pitch’ and all that. That’s just the way he is.
“It’s going to be a Premier League game and he’s saying it’ll be a right laugh because that’s him all over.
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“He said he can’t wait and I can’t wait either. I just told him to watch out because I’ll try to nutmeg him and take the Mickey.”
And Clark added: “I speak to him a lot and he’s exactly the same now as he was then — absolutely daft.
“He used to come to my grandma’s house almost every weekend for Sunday dinner. I spent loads of time at his house, bouncing up and down on the trampoline in his back garden.
“He used to scare the life out of me — because he’d jump off his shed on to the trampoline and bounce 20 feet up in the air.
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“And then he’d do two or three back flips which must have been down to him doing gymnastics at school.
“He was the same when we went to the Metrodome swimming pool in Barnsley when he’d do two or three somersaults from the diving boards.
“He was always a crackpot but most of all he was a great mate and a lovely lad to everyone.
“And from speaking to him every now and again he still is a top lad and really down to earth.”
The two Tykes’ paths first crossed when they joined Barnsley’s academy aged seven.
They progressed through the Oakwell ranks alongside Grimsby striker Danny Rose and future EFL players Rhys Oates, George Maris and Reuben Noble-Lazarus.
Clark, 30, said: “Somehow I even got him to play for my local side Hoyland Common Falcons when we were kids.
“We all benefited from the fact our coaches Bunny [Mark Burton] and Ronnie Branson changed the whole way the academy played.
“Instead of it being long-ball football we went for the ‘total football’ approach, which helped John no end.
“They encouraged him to play out from the back and the foundations were laid, especially for John.
“We had an unbelievable team at Barnsley and we’d say those were the best days of our lives — but I’m sure we’d both say different now.
“We had such a good laugh all the time. We’d batter each other and go to gruelling Army camps but ended up having a laugh. It was quality.
“Our youth team was full of good lads but you could see John was destined for great things.”
And it seems Stones might have been able to make a go of it between the sticks, too.
His pal said: “I remember heading to Danny’s house and playing football against his garage when we were 15 or 16. John always put himself up to go in goals.
“He was good in nets but his diving about also showed you’ve got to be daft to be a goalie because he loved being in the firing line.
“But he really kicked on, got more Barnsley first-team game-time than us attackers, grabbed his chance with both hands and was different class almost every week.”
Like all good mates, Clark was also there to help him along the way when things went awry.
He said: “There were a couple of times I saw him cry after a bad game, bless him.
“I remember watching from the bench when we got hammered at Brighton and John had probably the worst game of his life.
“He was right-back and got torn to pieces by Kazenga LuaLua, who played with us at Luton.
“John was lucky to stay on the field. He should have been sent off for two yellow-card offences.
“He got really upset after games but I always reassured him. It helped that he had good coaches around to improve him and good team-mates.
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“And his mum and dad were brilliant and they’d always cheer him up.
“John’s enjoyed so much success but I honestly couldn’t have wished it upon a better person.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
